The reason for my rating is the discrepancy experienced between what I expect from a ‘superhost’ and what the reality proved to be. From the moment I entered the apartment (which was a different apartment to the one in the main photographs for this listing) there was a strong smell emanating from the bathroom – the bathroom door was open so the bad smell was in the entire apartment. It only cleared after keeping the door closed for a while, opening the windows and the balcony door. However, if I wanted to use the bathroom I had to keep the door open as it was too suffocating to be in there otherwise.
I contacted the host about this issue every day of my 5-night stay, and her only solution was to keep sending the cleaner who used products to mask the smell at first – I googled and sent suggestions for how to clear sewer gas smells without calling a plumber as it became clear that she had no interest in calling a plumber or contacting building management. By the end of the trip the smell had reduced somewhat but it was still impossible to be in there without keeping the door open – luckily I had no one staying with me this time as that’s a difficult situation to manage no matter how intimate you may be with your room mate. I used the outside sink for brushing teeth, washing hands and face etc as it was just too uncomfortable to be in the bathroom. All in all it added an unnecessary level of discomfort to what was a busy work trip. I asked the host several times if she could find another solution, offer me a different apartment, a discount, at least something to acknowledge that it was not a pleasant stay – she ignored this and after I left even wrote to me asking for a 5-star review!
So to go back to my initial comment, this is not the kind of reaction I would expect from a superhost. Being fast to respond to messages is one thing but caring enough to solve genuine problems is what really goes to the heart of being a good host.